What makes my guitar string rip like this?

Hmmmmmmm....... can't say that I've ever seen one do that before!

I'm thinking it's either defective strings or perhaps a problem with that fret. (It looks like a couple of other strings are not quite right either.) I've seen strings come apart and break at the saddles, but never directly above a fret like that.

I'm not much help, am I? :D

EDIT: After looking more closely at the picture .... Does that fret look like it has a sharp edge to anyone else? How does it compare to the others? Are they more rounded? I think that may be your problem and it would just need to be rounded off to stop that from happening. IMHO. Look at the high e, the B and the G strings, also. Don't they look like they're "worn" just above that fret, too?

Very weird. Must be a defective fret. Is it just that fret?

I've seen that before....
On MY strat!!!!

I've just recently changed my strings, and they're good so far.
I always thought that it was from when it's put in it's case - as it's not a real fender case.
I figured that it's crushing the strings against the frets.
I haven't put it in the case since the string change and all is good so far, so that kinda supports that theory.

Though, looking at your frets shape; like EB said.... Mine are also flatter under D,G,B,E strings. And 'rounder' under the
E & A strings.

I'm not sure what normal is or what bad constitutes as far as frets go.

Though I'm thinking that I also get 'kinks' in the G string and such....
I'm pretty sure that mine is from the case.

Do you have an aftermarket case????
If so.... is it a tight fit/does the inside of the top of the case have deep string impressions????

Ken

mine is a strat too! yeah, it is a messed up fret. I see it now. damnit. it's only a year old. I'm pissed! right above the jacked fret the wood is chipped a bit too. I wonder if I did it or if it came like that? :cry:

Did you drop or bang the neck against something? It looks like that something hit the string right over the fret and flattened it. The frets look a little worn but not excessively. Also the other strings don't look as bad as this one. The fret looks like that it has a groove imprinted in it but its hard to see with the glare.

Also, How old are the strings? I've seen strings unravel when the wrap gets worn through, but these look pretty clean.

Are there any buzzes? Do the strings catch when you bend them? If the answer is yes, then have the guitar looked at by a luthier. You may need a fret leveling and recrown. If it's just one fret then that fret can be replaced and leveled with the other ones. Not that big of a job. But it takes a bit of knowhow though.

I don't think it would cost an arm and a leg (or just an arm for that matter) to have that fret replaced. Might be worth looking into!

:D
Mine are also flatter under D,G,B,E strings. And 'rounder' under the E & A strings.

I got curious and looked at every single guitar I own and all of the frets are evenly rounded from Low E to High e. There's no variance at all. I'm thinking that if you're seeing a variance, i.e., rounded at one end, flatter at the other, you probably need to have yours checked out as well. IMHO!

Hi,

I agree with racetruck1 - it's looks like it's been dropped or knocked in some way. It's hard to see how that much distortion would occur just from normal pressure. It's always hard to make judgements based on photos, which can be a bit misleading. But it looks like the sort of thing that happens when a guitar is leant against a wall and then falls or get knocked over and hits a music stand, or something else hard and metallic.

After having a few heart stopping 'falling guitar' moments I now have stands sitting in a couple of spots where I usually play, and also hangers on walls. This helps a lot, but I've still managed to inflict a few knocks. :(

Should be fixable though. Just apply the usual medicine of time and money....

Cheers,

Chris

Banging it against something was my first thought, too. But, she said that it happens every time she changes strings. I can't really see her hitting it in the same spot over and over again, which is what led me to the fret! I could be completely wrong, but I really do think that the fret is the culprit.

Banging it against something was my first thought, too. But, she said that it happens every time she changes strings. I can't really see her hitting it in the same spot over and over again, which is what led me to the fret! I could be completely wrong, but I really do think that the fret is the culprit.

Yes, I wasn't really sure how much weight to put on that. :? But it doesn't actually say "every time she changes strings". What was said was "sometimes the next day after changing strings" which is really rather vague, and could be taken more than one way. I know that when I'm trying to troubleshoot some new thing I can often jump to the wrong conclusion about what exactly happened and when. If there's chipping on the wood, and some sort of fret damage then there's a good chance it's been dropped at some time.

I remember early in my playing days noticing all sorts of 'wear marks' which turned out to be just surface polishing off the tarnish on the strings. So my guess was that there might have been a bit of unreliable 'backdating' of occurences which 'might' have been similar, in the search for an answer. But I could easily be wrong. It's very hard to tell what's really happened from photos and brief descriptions . I just find it hard to see how that much distortion (if the photo is accurate) could be caused by a bit of normal playing pressure, no matter how rough the fret.

Cheers,

Chris

EB -
Yeah, lol
I was thinking the same thing.

Though the guitar is 19 years old.
Probably wouldn't hurt to have 'em dressed. (and the nut looked at as well)

Thankx :)

Ken

That makes a lot of sense. It probably banged against something. I've banged it a few times...and knocked it out of tunes. Damn, I wish my room wasn't so small.

Hopefully everything gets straightened out.

I just had another look at the second photo here:

If you look along the line where the string would go if it hadn't been pulled aside, there is what looks like a dent in the wood which appears to show the imprint of the string (right alongside one of the grain marks in the wood, about one fifth the way up from the lower fret wire). It looks an awful lot like the result of a pretty severe blow that has pushed the string hard enough against the neck to both flatten a string that much, and also dent the wood.

Yes,
looking at the string more.
It seems to be flattened on the top.
Mine get kinked - sorta sticking up.

It would seem that you're all correct.
Looks to have struck something.
Also the fret itself... some heavy damage there.
I've never seen that before.

Ken

I agree with Chris C, It looks like impact damage. The fret looks fine. I would replace just that string and then see what happens. There is fret wear but it is not severe enough to require any kind of fret work. I also see the finish scratches that Chris C sees, right along the string length. I don't really see any other damage.

Run your fingernail along the fret in question and see if your fingernail catches anywhere, if it does, then get that fret dressed. If there is a notch or groove in the fret, it will catch the new string and ruin that one if it is not leveled. Again, not a big deal for a luthier. IMHO, you don't need anything more than a new string.